The solar energy industry has written to the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, urging them to work with the Department of the Interior (DOI) to address the July memorandum that resulted in a near-complete moratorium on solar project permitting.

DOI announced in July that it was ending the preferential treatment of ‘unreliable’ and subsidy-reliant wind and solar energy. All DOI-related decisions and actions regarding wind and solar energy facilities would be subjected to a new review process by the Office of the Executive Secretariat and Regulatory Affairs. Subsidies for such facilities will also be stopped.

The letter signed by 143 solar companies stated, “Federal agencies are implementing this directive in a way that amounts to a nearly complete moratorium on permitting for any project in which the Department of Interior may play a role, on both federal and private land, no matter how minor.”

It also highlighted the need for certainty to continue investments in the U.S. to build out “much-needed” energy projects. The certainty must include a review process that does not discriminate by energy source.

The letter underscored multiple permitting processes impacted since the July memorandum. These include permits from any DOI agency for projects on federal or private land, from non-DOI agencies where the DOI has a consultative role, and for projects on private land utilizing DOI resources.

Abigail Ross Hopper, President at Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), stated that the solar industry will continue to face considerable deployment and investment challenges at a time of high demand if there is no action to address the unequal treatment of solar energy under the July memorandum.

“While the solar industry values the continued bipartisan engagement on permitting reform, the  Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development (SPEED) Act, as passed out of committee, falls short of addressing this core problem: the ongoing permitting moratorium,” said Hopper, clarifying that the letter did not seek permitting reform.

Introduced in 2025, the U.S. SPEED Act aims to accelerate the country’s energy and infrastructure development by updating the National Environmental Policy Act. This would involve streamlining permitting of critical energy projects, removing red tape, reducing litigation delays, and enhancing the U.S.’s energy independence and competitiveness.

In November this year, SEIA released an analysis by the Energy Information Administration, highlighting that over 500 pipeline projects across the U.S. are at risk of delays or cancellation due to policy changes.

In July, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the Treasury to terminate the clean electricity production and investment tax credits for wind and solar facilities and to implement the enhanced foreign entity-of-concern restrictions identified in the Budget Reconciliation Bill.